Title: Healing the Wounds
Author: Moi
Rating: R for depressing themes and allusions to suicide and assisted suicide.
Warnings: SLASH (Jack Harkness x Ianto Jones), Spoilers (End of Season Two, "Exit Wounds"), character death (even though it's cannon), depressing atmosphere, allusions to suicided, attempted suicide, angst.
Summary: Post-Exit Wounds. Spoilers for end of Season Two. Slash-Janto. Set after the end of "Exit Wounds", Ianto's hurting badly and so is Jack. Will this be enough to bring our beloved Captain's head out of his ass and see that Ianto loves him? Better than it sounds, full warnings inside.
Pairings: Janto, GwenxRhys.
Note: ^_^' uuhhmm..okay. this is....odd. I admit. Where it came from, please don't ask. the dark recesses of my creativity are scary and produce stuff such as this. I was going for a fluffy ending but really I'm just hoping someone actually reads this and decides that it's not complete crap. And for those who are reading "Ianto Jones's iPod Playlist", I promise it will get finished. This is just a little detour. D now on with the story~

Ianto stood numbly staring at the screen. Tosh's video had ended about two or three minutes ago, and he still hadn't moved.

Jack had gone off some where with Gwen, she had been sobbing her eyes out, while he just stood there, staring at the blank screen.

"Owen you never knew....I loved you, all of you."

You too Toshiko. You were my best friend..

Owen never even got his second good bye. From what Jack had managed to figure out, and what data they managed to get from Tosh's programs, there had been a power spike and Owen never stood a chance. At least he knew Tosh loved him, before he went.

So many people had died on him; his Da (the one living with his mother was his step-father), Lisa and the majority-hell all of his friends at Canary Wharf, Suzie...Twice he might add. Then Owen, twice as well and Toshiko. Ianto gave up counting the number of times Jack had died since he started to get feelings for the man with the 51st century pheromones.

And where was he? Where was Jack when Ianto needed him? Off with Gwen, the woman who had someone waiting for her at home. Ianto just had an empty flat full of things. Gwen had Rhys, the love of her life, the man who had stood by her through everything. Ianto was alone, even if Jack was right next to him.

And now it was worse, because he didn't have Toshiko and Owen to run to, mostly Tosh, but hell Owen had been there a whole bunch of times for him. More times that Jack would ever find out about.

"Ianto?"

That voice, so soft, so pained, but still so Jack Harkness. He was hurting just as bad as he and Gwen were, probably worse because he was in charge and would see it as his fault.

"Yanto?"

Turning Ianto faced the man he loved, and knew in an instant that while Jack had been pretty much holding it together for Gwen, he couldn't any more.

"Gwen's gone home?" he asked and Jack nodded. Sighing Ianto opened his arms and Jack fell in them, crying for all his worth.

It had been his brother, Gray, that had done this to them, to Jack. Jack not only had to bury Tosh and Owen, but he had to freeze his brother, his baby brother. Jack's pain was nothing like Ianto's, it was worse, and the Welshman would just have to swallow his pain and take care of Jack. He could do that, he owed it to Jack.

"Shhh....It's all right Love..C'mon Jack, c'mon the sofa's right over here." he cooed leading the crying man to the sofa and gently sat him down. When he himself sat down, Jack curled up next to him and just clung to him, mindless of wrinkling and such. Ianto didn't care either, he just wanted to keep Jack from doing something stupid.

"I'm so sorry Ianto..I killed them.."

"No you didn't. Jack you were taken, buried, then frozen. It's not your fault. Jack please, you know Toshiko and Owen wouldn't want you to blame yourselves."

"But Owen hated me for bringing him back.."

"He forgave you."

"Tosh had so much left to live for.."

"She died a hero."

"Please Yan..please do it."

Ianto sighed heavily. Jack was asking him to kill him. Penance for his failure.

"Jack you know that won't help any. If anything it'll just make you feel worse. Please Love, please don't ask me to. You know it won't help you, and I'll feel like a monster..."

Oops, he didn't mean for that to slip. Jack struggled against his grip to sit up and look at him.

"Monster? Yan I'm-"

"I know Jack, but it's my hand. I die a little every time you do. Please don't ask me this Jack..I can't lose you too, even if it's for a little bit..." Ianto begged, tears filling his gray eyes. He wasn't beyond pleading with Jack, but for him to find out that's how Ianto felt, well that wasn't planned. He never wanted Jack to know that, especially not now. He would probably leave and just do it himself, and then Ianto really would be alone again. But he just could not stop the words.

"Please Jack, I'm so alone already. I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't want to be as empty as I am anymore. Please Jack? Please..don't leave me.." he begged almost silently as Jack managed to get out of his grip and stare wide-eyed at him.

The Welshman dropped his head in shame and curled away from Jack. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry Jack. I shouldn't have said that...I'll...I'll call Gwen back, have her bring Rhys, just...I'm sorry.."

"Oh Yan.." he sighed, and pulled the younger man to him. He was shaking, he knew, but he just couldn't help it. If Jack rejected him, or kept him out of pity, he wasn't sure what he'd do. Probably just slide on his mask and keep up as usual. It's what he always did after all.

"Yan, sweet heart, why didn't you tell me before? God I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot..I won't leave you, I promise, just...tell me you aren't mad at me.."

He relaxed a little, though he felt pretty guilty that Jack stopped everything he was trying to work through to make Ianto feel better. Jack was more important, he shouldn't worry so about him.

"Of course I forgive you Jack..there's nothing to forgive...But really you shouldn't worry about me. I'll be fine. I always am." he gave Jack a smile that was sincere at first, and then moved more to strained. He laughed a little, "I keep expecting Owen to come in here and tell us to get a room..or Tosh to say that we're cute...I miss them Jack.."

"I know Yan, I know..I do too."

"They left me Jack..just like everyone else...Just like you will..." he choked out before the sobs he had locked away broke free. Jack held him tight and rocked him, the tears from those beautiful blue eyes falling down that handsome face to mix with Ianto's pain.

"I will never leave you Yan. Never. Understand? I may die, I may disappear, but I will always come back to you. I love you Ianto Jones, and you're stuck with me til the day you die, weather you want me to or not."

His breath caught in his chest and it as sure as hell wasn't because of the tears. No, Jack said he loved him and that he was never ever leaving him.

"I love you too Jack.."

And with that, a pair of gorgeous lips sealed over his own and while they were both still crying, both Jack and Ianto started to mend their slightly broken hearts...